Torrent 7100 WiMAX Core Network Test System

WiMAX Core Network Testing

The Torrent 7100 lets you comprehensively test the WiMAX core network from a functional and load bearing perspective.

It was the world's first test system for ASN gateways and the connectivity services network (CSN). Packed with numerous features it has been used around the world for equipment design & test, and in carrier labs for quality assurance.

Solution: The Torrent 7100

The Torrent 7100 WiMAX Test System

The Torrent 7100 WTS (WiMAX Test System) is the world's first test system for ASN gateways and CSNs (Press Release) and has been in the field since September of 2006.

As illustrated above, the Torrent 7100 consists of a suite of servers that work together in a unified manner to provide a realistic, high performance, lineraly-scalable Mobile WiMAX test solution. The central controller for the system is the Linux based CS-7100. This server automatically configures, starts, and directs the traffic servers in the system to run tests as directed by the user through the UI-7100 GUI.

The MTS-7100 traffic server authentically simulates up to 2,000,000 mobiles and up to 5000+ base stations on a single Linux machine. The ASN-7100 simulates an ASN Gateway which can be useful for testing CSNs or testing R4/R6 mobility. Similarily, the CSN-7100 can simulate a CSN Node for ASN Gateway testing. Finally, the NTS-7100 provides a convenient aggregation of network servers (MMS, PoC, WAP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.).

Realistic Mobile Simulation
A central feature of the system is that it is realistic, and simulates mobiles and the application data traffic that they generate as precisely as possible. In particualr, mobiles are stateful and have their own network stacks built-in.

Realistic Network Simulation
Because the entire network aroudn the system under test is authentically simulated, compelex tests such as inter-ASN gateway handover with ensuing R3 relocation and authenticator relocation can be performed -- all with concurrent data path continuity testing.

Commercial Hardware and Software
Because our systems run primarily on Linux, off-the-shelf PC hardware can be used. Thus the Torrent solution rides both the PC hardware power curve and the Linux operating system power curve. As a convenience, Mobile Metrics certified hardware platforms may be used if desired.

Highly Parallel Simulation
Parallelism is supported on numerous levels. Typically, parallelism is created when more than one test case is executed at the same time during a test suite of by hand. However, parallelism can be extended down to the individual mobile subscriber as illustrated in the following mobile script:

Full Automation Support
Test cases may be fully automated and allow the end user to interact with the system under test via ssh, telent, ftp, etc. through an Expect style interface.

Linear Scalability
Any traffic profile can be scaled linearly by simply adding more computing hardware, and this can be accomplished wihout having to rewrite or otherwise modify test cases.

Ease of Use
The Torrent 7100 features a simple installation process and intuitive multi-user GUI. And it does not require programming knowledge to operate.

QoE Characterization
A key aspect of the system is that it allows the end subscriber's experience to be characterized through a number of key performance indicators (KPIs). For each KPI, the system tracks not only the mean and standard deviation, but a complete high resolution histogram as shown below for MMS:

Histograms are particularly useful for studying the effect of background traffic on interactive traffic, especially under heavy loads.

QoS You Can See and Hear
A unique feature of the system is that it allows any PC to connect to one of the simulated mobiles and relay all of its traffic through it. In this way, the performance of streaming media applications such as YouTube can be subjectively evaluated under different traffic conditions.

Detailed Hierarchical Statistics
Hundreds of statistics are captured by the system on both the MTS and NTS and they are organized in a hierarchical manner to allow both the big picture and the finer details to be seen more clearly. These statistics may be examined in real time by test cases, or they may be exported in build via CSV file to Excel. Additionally KPIs may be graphed dynamically.

Full Messaging Control
All control and data messages and their associated message flows may easily be modified by the end user using oru patent-pending filtering layer. This allows a virtually limitless number of error scenarios or unusual messages flows to be tested.

Network Service Assurance
While the Torrent system was originally designed for lab use, it may also be used to perform in-service networkmonitoring. For example, network entry, handover and data path functionality can be spot-checked periodically and an alarm raised if failures are detected.